Who Wants to Live Forever
by Darkpurplelighter
Summary: Bobby and Rogue try to help John overcome his past demons. Set after X2, John is still with the X-Men. No X3. Ryro.
1. Nightmare

XXXXXX

_Something smells. Something is burning._

_John sniffed the air and threw the covers off himself, sitting up in his bed, his bare feet resting on the carpet of his room. He sniffs the air again, something is definitely burning. John wonders why the fire alarm hasn't gone off yet and crosses his room in a half sprint. _

_He grabs the door handle and rips it open, almost pulling the hinges they are fixed to and runs into the hallway, immediately entering a cloud of smoke._

_John started coughing and finally is able to see where the smoke is coming from; his parents room. He then begins to hear screaming. _

"John!"

John's eyes snapped opened and was now staring up at Bobby Drake, his best friend and roommate. He had his hands on John's shoulders and was shaking him. John took a deep breath and looked down at himself, noticing how bad he was sweating.

He pushed himself up and sat down on the edge of the bed, running his hand threw his wet hair. Bobby sat down next to him, looking concered.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

John nodded.

"Yeah, what happened?"

"You started yelling in your sleep," Bobby said. "Another nightmare?"

"Go back to bed Bobby." John said, ignoring the question.

Bobby frowned but did so, there was no point in arguing. If John didn't want to talk about it then he wasn't going to.

John's nightmares were becoming more and more frequent and Bobby was really starting to worry about him. Almost everyone else at the school didn't like John, they were even somewhat afraid of him but Bobby and Rogue saw a side of John that no one else did. He loosened up a bit more around them, he was comfortable being himself while they were around.

Bobby looked up and saw that John had went to the bathroom and changed into dry clothes. Before going back to bed he went over and opened the window, letting cool air into the room.

The rest of the night, John tossed and turned before finally being able to drift back to sleep.

Just a few hours later, the sun dawned bright and early. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and all was right in the world.

"Shut up! Damn birds!"

An empty Dr. Pepper bottle was then flung out the open window smacked one of the cute, innocent, fluffy birdies and sent it plummeting into the bushes below. The other birds took the hint and hightailed it out of there.

All was right with most of the world, anyway.

John groaned and buried his head under the pillows. It was time to get up already.

"WAKE UP! IT'S TIME TO GO TO CLASS!" Bobby yelled.

John clapped his hands over his ears.

"Why are you so loud?" He asked through gritted teeth and Bobby smiled brightly down at him. He looked a little too happy foreight thirtyin the morning.

"WHY AM I SO LOUD? IT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU'LL GET UP!"

John tried to hit him but Bobby jumped back too quick.

"Leave me alone!" John grabbed the closest thing, his alarm clock, and threw it at his smirking friend. Luckily for Bobby, John's aim was never the best in the morning, and it whizzed harmlessly past his head.

"Nope! Sorry!"

Bobby abandoned the yelling and grabbed John's visible ankles and began pulling the boy out of his bed. John reacted quickly and grabbed hold of his bed post. Bobby tugged harder on John's feet.

"Get up!"

"Screw you." John growled.

Bobby pretended to give up and let go of John's ankles.

"Go away." John made the mistake of relaxing and before he knew it, Bobby had grabbed his feet again and pulled him off the bed.

"Ow!"

John hit the floor with a dull thud and instantly curled up into a ball. His head was pounding from lack of sleep and his stomach was threatening to force up whatever it still held.

"C'mon, John." Bobby said as he unwrapped his friend from his blanket. John allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and led to the bathroom. Instantly, he felt his stomach rebelling and he stumbled over to the toilet. Bobby turned away as John made a gagging noise but he heard no puke hitting the water.

Bobby turned back around and put his hand John's shoulder.

"You feel okay?"

"I'm fine," John snapped.

Bobby felt a small pang of guilt for waking him up so harshly but John was such a pain in the ass in the morning.

"Take a shower and maybe you'll feel better," He said.

John nodded.

"See you in Ms. Monroe's class."

And with that Bobby shut the bathroom door leaving his friend to himself. John took a deep breath and did what Bobby suggested.

After ten minutes John finished up and was currently standing half naked in front the bathroom mirror, a straight razor in his right hand. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against the mirror.

_"John!"_

_"JOHN!"_

John gritted his teeth and slowly cut vertically through the soft flesh on the inside of his forearm.


	2. The Danger Room

XXXXXX

After Bobby took down the last bit of notes from the board and Ms. Monroe dismissed the class he went to the student lounge for a break before having to go to his very first danger room session.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rogue walking toward him. Rogue too had been out of classes, but that was to work with Professor Xavier's old friend Hank McCoy to be able to finally gain control over her powers. Not only that, she had been training none stop with Logan in order to improve her hand to hand combat skills.

"Hey Bobby," she greeted as she sat down next to him. "Where's John?"

"He didn't show up to class."

"Again? Isn't this like the third time he's missed?"

Bobby shrugged.

"I woke him earlier."

"Is he okay?"

"I guess he isn't getting enough sleep."

He was about to mention John's nightmares but decided not to. Bobby looked at his watch and saw that the session was going to begin soon. He got to his feet and began walking down the hall with Rogue.

"Every since we got back from Alkali Lake, John's been acting different." Bobby said.

"Come to think of it…He _has_ been rather quiet. I wonder what's going on with him." Rogue responded as they turned the corner and arrived at the control center were only the oldest students had gathered.

Logan stood in front of them and began speaking.

"Alright people, listen up. The purpose of this session is to test your skills and see how well you handle yourselves. This will be a mutant-versus-machine battle, I'll be sending one group at a time in. The first group is Iceman, Rogue, Colossus, and Pyro."

Bobby sighed.

"I'll go tell Logan that John's not here."

Rogue grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, I don't think John is going to want to miss this. You and Peter suit up, I'll go get him."

Rogue turned and ran down the hall to the elevator and took it up to the bedrooms. She walked down the hall and stopped in front of Bobby and John's door and then knocked softly.

"John? Are you in here?

"What do you want?"

Surprised but not deterred by the sharpness of the voice, Rogue asked, "Can I come in?"

There was a long pause and then John said, "Yeah, sure…"

Rogue came inside and stared. John was sitting by his window, gazing out of to the forest, looking very tired and annoyed. It was such an odd expression to see on the pyromaniac that for a moment Rogue was at a loss.

She caught herself and asked gently, smiling, "You okay there Johnny?"

Normally John would laugh at the little name, but today he just looked over his shoulder, snapping,

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Bobby told me you weren't at Ms. Monroe's class...again."

John scoffed.

"Well, it's not like I'm missing something."

Rogue sighed and spoke again.

"Well, Logan is getting ready to give us our first danger room session. You don't want to miss that do you? It could be fun."

Exhailing deeply, John got up and responded;

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Rogue smiled and was about to turn to leave but looked down at the floor and saw small drops of blood.

"Did you have an accident?" She asked.

John suddenly stiffened up and with a speed that rivaled Quicksilver, he leapt at Rogue and pushed her out of the room, slamming his door shut behind her.

Rogue stood there a minute, stunned at what John had just did. She turned and walked off to the elevator, taking it back downstairs, her mind still confused. As she walked back to the control room in a daze, still unsure about what she'd just witnessed. He had a temper but never acted like that before.

"Well?" Colossus asked when she walked back in and handed her a uniform.

"I don't know if he's coming. Let's just get ready to head in."

After changing into her uniform, Rogue stood with Iceman and Colossus at the door of the training dome, Rogue watched the hallway nervously. Finally Pyro showed up, looking sulky, like someone he knew had died.

Colossus put an arm around his shoulder, saying cheerfully, "So you decided to join us?"

Pyro surprised him by glaring up at him. "Get off me."

Colossus withdrew, shocked. Pyro stared at the floor, then looked up to see Bobby and Rogue staring at him.

"What?" He snapped icily and they averted their gazes.

The doors opened and they went inside. While waiting for Pyro, the three of them had already formed a plan. Rogue would distract the robot, Iceman would freeze it's feet, and Colossus would metal up and take it down.

The Danger Room then changed it's size and shape and surroundings. Across the distance they could see the large robot stomping it's way towards them.

"Alright, everyone in position," Iceman instructed.

But before they could progress, Pyro had formed a fireball in his hand.

"John?" Colossus spoke. "What are you doing?"

Pyro ignored him and the fireball in his hand grew larger. Iceman then looked over and noticed what his friend was doing...something that was certainly not in the plan.

"John!" Iceman yelled.

Then, with a cry of rage, Pyro thrusted the fireball at the robot.

Iceman felt the approaching heat and with a cry, formed a large ice shield for them all, protecting them as the fireball engulfed the robot. The robot exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere.

They all crouched in the ice shield with their hands over their head as they heard the explosion and the robot being destroyed, the pieces of it landing everywhere.

Once he was sure everything was done, Iceman got to his feet shakily and gagged as the stench of burning metal filled the air.

Slowly, the other got to their feet and looked at Pyro, panting in a corner of the room. He got unsteadily to his feet, breathing hard, his uniform torn at the shoulder.

Iceman went to Pyro's side and shouted at him, "Are you insane? What would have happened if we hadn't seen that coming?"

"Get away from me!"

Pyro shoved Iceman away from him and stalked out of the training dome. A few second later, the doors opened again andLogancame in, looking furious.

"What the hell happened?"

"John has… _problems_." Colossus offered, turning back to his normal form.

Rogue then looked at the smoldering heap of the melted robot and then said softly,

"He could have killed us."

Bobby and Rogue then looked at each other, knowing right then and there that something was wrong with John.


	3. Concern

XXXXXX

John pushed roughly past the other students who were staring at him and headed to the dressing room, taking off what was left of his uniform and changed into his regular clothes as fast as he could before Bobby and Rogue came in and confronted him on what had happened.

He stormed his way to his room, and was surprised to see that his door was open. John slowly walked into the room and his eyes widened when he saw Professor Xavier waiting there, with that usual friendly look on his face.

"Hello John," Xavier greeted and smiled.

"Professor," said John, his mouth pressed tightly together.

Out of everyone in the school, Professor Xavier was the only one who could make John feel nervous. He hated the thought of somebody being able to read his mind.

"Can I help you?" He asked, trying to remain polite.

"I just wanted to check on you, because Ms. Monroe has told me you've been absent from her class several times," Xavier explained. "Are you alright, son?"

"I'm fine. I've just been having some trouble sleeping."

"Well, you know we have sleeping pills here. Why don't you take one and see if that helps you sleep? You see, since this is your last year as a student, I would hate to see things start to go downhill now."

"I will." John lied.

"So, today was your first danger room session." Xavier began and John winced slightly, wishing the old man would leave. "How did things go?"

John shrugged.

"Alright I guess."

John started tapping his foot as a silence fell over the two of them. He hated uncomfortable silences.

"Is there something you would like to tell me John?"

John took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Can't think of anything."

Xavier nodded.

"Alright then,"

Xavier slowly wheeled his way out of John's room. John began to close the door when the professor's voice stopped him.

"John…if there's anything you ever need to talk about, you know my door is always open."

"I know. Thank you Professor."

Later that evening, Bobby, Rogue, Peter, and Kitty Pryde gathered at a table to eat dinner, away from the cafeteria so they could eat by themselves and of course, John didn't join them.

"I don't know what's gotten in to him." Bobby said. "I've known him for almost four years and I've never seen him act like that...well except for at my parents house."

"I'm just glad I wasn't in there with you guys," Kitty spoke up.

"Where is John anyway?" Peter asked. "I haven't seen him for hours."

Bobby shrugged.

"He's probably still in his room."

"Don't you think we should go get him to come eat?" Rogue asked.

"If you want to bother him, be my guest."

Rogue looked over at Kitty.

"I'm not doing it."

Peter shook his head.

"Me neither."

Rogue got to her feet.

"Fine, I'll get him."

She walked up to John's room and knocked. No answer.

"John?" She called softly.

"Go away…"

"No. I'm not. Please open the door John." Rogue pleaded.

A minute went by and Rogue sighed and was about to turn to leave when the door was unlocked and opened. Rogue walked in and saw John throwing on his leather jacket and putting his shoes on.

"Aren't you coming to dinner?" She asked.

"No, I'm going out for a few hours." John stood up and put his lighter in his pocket.

Rogue crossed her arms, and asked firmly, "Care to explain yourself for earlier?"

John rolled his eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hurt you guys."

Rogue was a little stunned that John had apologized. She then got over her surprise and shook her head.

"You were fine a couple weeks ago, and now…" Rogue paused, seeing John stiffen. She then asked, "John… What's wrong?"

The Australian shook his head and walked out the door murmuring softly,

"You wouldn't understand."


	4. Motorcycle Ride

XXXXXX

Rogue smiled and went after him. "Try me." She said.

John ignored her and continued down the stairs. Rogue followed him until they reached the garage.

He approached one of the motorcycles painted with black and red flames and turned it on, letting the engine warm. The rumbling purr filled his ears and he smiled.

"Where are you going?" Rogue asked.

"I'm going for a ride."

"Where?" Rogue put her hands in her pockets and she wasn't looking at John as she asked the question.

"Just around. I want to clear my head." John said.

Rogue didn't leave and instead stayed, watching silently as John continued to ready himself. John looked at her once, out of the corner of his eye, and then, grinning, redid a check on the mirror.

John pulled on his gloves and then asked , "Wanna come?"

Rogue's head snapped up, "What? Now?"

"If you want. There's a spare helmet in the locker."

"Will we get in trouble?"

"Only if you told. You want to come or not?"

Rogue considered and then said softly, "Um… okay."

John smirked and pulled a red helmet from the locker for Rogue. He helped her squeeze it on her head, then said, "It's safe to assume you've never ridden before, right?"

Rogue nodded.

"Well, firstly, to turn, I have to lean. Lean with me. And second, no sudden movements. Tap my shoulder first before you do something. It'll get my attention."

"I got it."

"Good. Get on."

Rogue did as told and was now sitting on the back on the bike, her arms wrapped around John's waist

John revved the engine and felt Rogue tighten her grip a little. He grinned and put the put into gear, rolling out of the mansion's garage. They got on the street and Rogue was holding onto John tightly as they took a curve. After traveling through town, John took Rogue by way of back roads, not wanting to take her on the highway just yet, and up to the forests of the mountain's base. He'd found a wonderful little road that wound its way through the trees and he always came when he needed to clear his mind.

After a time, Rogue stopped holding John tightly and his grip relaxed. John felt her head moving, sometimes bumping against the back of his helmet and he knew Rogue was looking around. He smiled to himself as they took a turn. He leaned back and John opened his helmet a crack, shouting over the wind,

"How do you like it so far?"

"It's not as bad as I thought it'd be. I'm actually liking it!" Rogue yelled back.

John grinned and accelerated the bike faster.

They rode back to mansion at roughly 10 o'clock. It had grown kind of chilly, but it was still nice enough outside to not wear a jacket.

"Well, uh, thanks." Rogue said while taking off her helmet.

"Don't mention it." John smirked.

John and Rogue started walking back inside.

"So…you've been working with McCoy on controlling your powers?"

"Yes."

"How's it going?"

Rogue smiled and removed her glove and gently touched his bare hand.

"So you can control it now?"

"Yeah, it's amazing. He's really helped me."

They walked in silence for a minute as they reached the stairs.

"How are you feeling?" Rogue asked.

John shrugged.

"Better than I was."

Rogue then surprised him when she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"Good night John."

The next morning, Bobby rubbed his eyes as he got up and shut his alarm off, he then looked over to see the bed next to his was empty. Bobby quickly got dressed and hurried down to class and was shocked when he saw John there, sitting in his seat.

"John? Is that really you?" Bobby asked sarcastically while sitting down next to him.

"Yeah, I decided to show up today."

"Nice of you to join us today Mr. Allerdyce," Ms. Monroe said when entered the room and saw him. "You've missed a little bit of work, but I think you'll be able to catch up."

As Ms. Monroe went on with her lesson, Bobby whispered to John.

"I can't believe you're here."

"I got some advice of baldy and took a sleeping pill before going to bed."

"So…no nightmares?" Bobby asked.

John shook his head and began taking down notes.

When the class ended John hurried off before Bobby could get a chance to talk to him. He sighed and made his way to Logan's class, this time being held in the gym.

Bobby went to the locker room and changed into his gym clothes.

In addition to the danger room sessions, Logan was also teaching them hand to hand combat. Since many of them had no long-range power they would have to rely on physical skill alone in battle.

When he entered the gym he looked around and saw John was no where to be found. Peter was lifting weights and everyone else had a partner. Rogue was working with Logan, just like she had been in every combat training class.

Bobby frowned and but pulled gloves on his hands, preparing for a round with the punching bag.

The gym door opened and John finally walked in, dressed in workout clothes as well. Bobby relaxed his posture, shifting in chase John decided to try anything, but John merely nodded at him, looking pointedly at Bobby's bare feet with a knowing smile and began to stretch.

"Need a sparring partner?" John asked as he removed his shoes and socks.

"Sorry, I don't feel like having you pummel me to death," Bobby replied without looking up from his task.

"Afraid?" John grinned and threw his balled up socks at Bobby.

"No, just not into pain," Bobby said lightly as he batted the projectile away.

"I won't hurt you, buddy." John laughed. He then put training gloves on as well.

Bobby thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine, let's go."

The two stepped up to the mat and began to circle each other slowly.

Bobby stopped the circling, balling his fists and poising himself in a fighting stance. John immediately did the same.

Bobby lashed out, aiming at John's head and upper torso, but he blocked all his blows with ease and finished by hitting Bobby across the face with his right hand and then over the temple with his left, bringing the Iceman down to his knees.

Everything happened in a blur of movements, and Bobby was shocked that John had beaten him that easily. He had expected his friend to be good, but not that good… Well, to hell with it. This was only round one.

Quickly Bobby jumped to his feet and poised himself again. His head hurt a little from the punches, but he didn't care. John was already waiting for him, a smug look on his face.

Bobby jabbed at him again, and John dodged the punch and counter attacked, although this time Bobby managed to parry the blow and leap away from him. John hated to admit that he was impressed.

They held each other's eyes and started to circle one another again. "You're holding back!" Bobby exclaimed, a deep frown furrowing his brow.

"Yes."

"Don't."

"Alright then, I won't."

This time it was John who struck first, leapt up and spun around in the air, directing a vicious kick to the side of Bobby's neck. Bobby did not have a chance to either block or dodge it.

When he landed gracefully on the ground, John immediately swung his leg around in an arc, hitting Bobby squarely in the gut. The dazed and unprepared Bobby was shoved back several feet by the powerful blows. Where the hell had John learned to do that? The air was knocked out of him, and he was forced to sink down, clutching his abused midsection.

"You asked me not to hold back," John said while he waited for Bobby to recover.

"That's right, I did," Bobby growled, getting to his feet once again. His face was red from both anger and exertion. John had brought him down twice! He was starting to get enraged. He couldn't help it. This had begun to feel humiliating. He shouldn't have underestimated his opponent.

"Come on, I'm ready!" he spat, bracing himself for what was to come next.

John swung his foot at Bobby again, but to his surprise, Bobby blocked the kick by catching his foot so he couldn't move it. He then shoved John backwards before aiming a series of hard punches at him from both directions.

John lost his balance momentarily and managed to block the first two blows, although not the third. Bobby's fist hit him clean across the face, connecting with his jaw sending him back several steps.

_"John!"_

_John looked up from his book as he heard his dad yell his name._

'Not now' John thought.

He shook his head, as if trying to shake the thoughts away and threw a kick at Bobby, his right foot connected with his head, and Bobby lost his balance, almost falling down on his ass.

Bobby growled as he got back to his feet. He swung by John caught his wrist and John twisted his arm up behind his back. Bobby attempted a clumsy attack with his free arm, but John grabbed that wrist as well, locking both his arms in a vice-like grip. Bobby squirmed, but there was no breaking free.

Bobby looked down and in an act of desperation, he stamped John's foot with his own with his full strength. John yelled out in pain, and Bobby seized the opportunity when it was presented.

The next second John was knocked to the floor, where he landed prone on his back with a grinning Bobby on top of him.

Bobby pinned John beneath him and caught his wrists, holding his wrists down next to his head before John could do anything to defend himself.

A triumphant grin formed on Bobby's face. John was wriggling against him, vainly trying to dislodge his friend. Bobby doubled his efforts and firmly pinned John down. He definitely had the edge now.


	5. Rogue Finds Out

XXXXXX

"You lost!" Bobby stated smugly and brought his face closer to John's.

"'Lost?" he snapped. "I did not! You cheated! This was not a fair fight!"

"Fair fight or not - I have you pinned beneath me on the floor, don't I?" Bobby sneered. "I won!"

John growled and squeezed his eyes shut,

_"John!" his father yelled. John got to his feet as his dad stormed into his room. _

_"Ignoring my calls?" He yelled at John. His dad walked over and hit John across the face, hard._

_"You will respond when I speak to you!" _

_"Yes si-" John said with a mouthful of blood, before his dad hit him again. _

_"I did not say that you could speak! Do you understand?"_

_John didn't reply, and his dad hit him again._

_"Answer Me!" He yelled, spraying John with spit._

_"Yes sir"_

John used all his strength and bucked Bobby off of him. He jumped to his feet and their sparring match continued.

The two of them circled each other again briefly before Bobby ran at John and punched at his stomach.

John blocked it, grabbed Bobby's arm and threw him to the floor. He got back up quickly and kept his distance.

Bobby went to punch for his face, but simultaneously tripped him. John fell on the ground and, before he could get up, Bobby stood over him, like he was going to straddle his waist again. Thinking he had him right where he wanted him Bobby let his guard down. John used his leg to trip him and Bobby fell to the floor

John pushed himself up and quickly jumped on top of Bobby, pinning him to the ground.

He thought about cheating to win, or to make Bobby scream in pain. John shook his head at the sadistic thoughts; was this really his true nature?

Rogue handed Kitty a towel as the two of them finished up their own sparring match.

"You're getting better Kitty." Rogue complimented.

"You too,"

The two walked over to the other side of the gym and saw that Bobby and John were still going at it, despite that fact thatLoganhad dismissed them.

"Geez, they look like their about to kill each other." Kitty said.

John had pinned Bobby to the ground face first, one of John's knees on Bobby's left arm, and the other on his left shoulder partially on his back holding him down, all with a wrist lock in place.

Bobby let out a grunt and tried to use his right arm to try to push up his body, even with John's weight on it, but it was too much strain on his chest.

"Poor little Bobby" John taunted as he kept the wrist lock in place, "I don't think you can do it." Bobby pushed with his as much strength as he could muster, but John had him pinned down good.

Bobby then again tried to over power John by pushing up with his right arm; but the position was still too awkward to be able to get enough leverage, but he still tried. He could feel the torque, feel the stretching and straining of muscles as he lifted his arm and then his chest of the ground as started to perform the most intense push up he had ever tried. A moment later, his arm gave out and his chest fell back to the ground where it had started.

Bobby pivoted his face to look towards John and see his single knee pressing down on his forearm.

John then jabbed his elbow into Bobby's back so that he could lean on it and better support himself. Bobby winced in pain again, as he reached the breaking point.

"John, I give." He said.

But John didn't let go, he just put more pressure on it.

_John watched helplessly as his father and mother argued._

_His dad was drunk, again._

_"Don't you tell me what to do!" He yelled and slapped his mother._

_That was it._

_John quickly ran toward his father and kicked him in the groin. He doubled over in pain and John continued hitting him as hard as he could in the face and head as heard his mother screaming at him to stop._

_But he didn't…he couldn't._

"John, I give." Bobby said again as he then dropped his hand to the ground. John quickly released the hold and rolled back away from him.

Bobby winced and began rubbing his shoulder.

"Sorry Bobby." John said.

"No, it's okay." Bobby assured him. "I got carried away first."

Kitty and Rogue walked toward them.

"You guys know class has been over for about five minutes now?" Kitty said.

They shook their heads no.

"Well do you guys want to go to lunch?" Rogue asked.

"No...I have a lot of work to make up, I'll see you guys later."

And with that, John hurried out the gym, not even bothering to grab his shoes.

"What happened?" Rogue asked.

"Nothing, we just got a little too…competitive." Bobby explained as Kitty rolled her eyes.

Rogue went back to the locker room and changed out of her gym clothes, deciding to take John's shoes up to him before heading off to lunch. She wanted him to join them but decided not to. She was already surprised that John was going to classes again and didn't want to push him any further.

She pushed his door open and dropped his shoes on the ground. Rogue turned to leave, but a sharp cry of pain from the bathroom caught her attention.

"John?"

Rogue walked over and saw the bathroom door was cracked, enough for her to see through.

"John?" She said.

Rogue gasped and had to stop herself from letting out a scream when she saw him.

John had a razor his hand, and had cut himself.

When he heard Rogue, his head snapped to the side so fast Rogue thought he may have broken it.

He pushed the door open, his eyes flashing dangerously. "What the fuck are you doing here?" John seethed.

Rogue couldn't speak, she couldn't take her eyes off the cut on John's arm.

John grabbed Rogue and started removing her from his room.

"John…you need he-"

He pushed her out before she could finish.

"Get out, and you better not say a word about this to anyone." John warned and slammed the door violently.


	6. Piano Lesson

XXXXXX

It was late at night. In a room from the mansion, sounds of bed sheets are heard- it's Rogue, trying to sleep. She feels restless, deciding which position to stay in. Undoubtedly, she can't sleep. She keeps moving from one side to another, but gives up and sits on the bed.

Feelings of envy came over her when she looked over at Kitty, sleeping in her bed peacefully.

She took the clock from her bedside table, and sighs. It's 2 o'clock in the morning. Thoughts of John were still in her head, she was so worried about him. She knew he needed help, but John had warned her not to tell anyone what she saw him doing. Telling someone could push him further away, or even make things worse.

Rogue put on her black robe and exited her room. She walked down the hall and turned the corner and began hearing sounds. It wasn't monotone, rather rhythmical, but calm. Curious to know where it comes from, she walked closer, realizing that the sound is… music.

Rogue walked through the corridor, until she stops in front of a room. The music room. She leaned out on the door and sees that it's Hank McCoy playing the piano. She listened attentively, without a peep. It appears that he didn't hear her coming, and keeps playing the piano.

He played the last few notes, and his blue furry hands leave the keyboard.

"That…was lovely." Rogue said.

Hank turned around, surprised, and smiled when he saw her.

"Moonlight Sonata. Ludvig Van Beethoven."

He looked down at the keys for a second and back up at her.

"Forgive me if I woke you up-"

"That's okay, I've been awake for a while. Looks like I'm not the only one."

Hank smiled.

"Before, I used to come here to think… and I still do it."

They were quite for a minute before Hank spoke again.

"Do you know how to play the piano?"

Rogue shook her head.

"No. Well, my mother used to play and tried to teach me, but… I had already ran from home."

"Come, sit here."

Hank moved a bit away from the piano stool, leaving space for her to sit.

"What?"

"Come here, with me. I'll give you some piano lessons." Hank said.

Rogue smiled and walked slowly towards the piano and sat down next to Hank.

"Let's see if my piano lessons can help you get some sleep."

Hank cleared his throat.

"Well, then. We'll begin with the basics, hmm? The treble clef. Do."

Hank played a key.

"Your turn," Hank said while pointing at a key more to his left. "Place your right hand in these five keys."

Rogue did so.

A key is heard.

"Re."

Rogue imitated him.

"Mi."

She continued.

"Fa.'

Rogue repeated the sound.

"So."

She played the last key.

"That's it. Now…" He started playing the notes one after the other. Rogue tried to imitate him but missed.

"It's okay. Let's see…"

Hank held her wrist, covered by the robe.

"Why! You sure are tense. Perhaps you could…" Hank looked at her, releasing her wrist, and observed the expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head.

"It's nothing."

"It doesn't appear to be nothing. You know you can tell me anything right?"

Rogue sighed. The two of them had grown quite friendly with each other in the last few weeks of him teaching her how to control her powers. She then took a deep breath and decided to tell him what the problem was.

"It's just...a friend of mine, has some problems. And I don't know what to do."

A tear ran down over her cheek. Carefully, Hank dried her tear with his long, sharp nail.

"Rogue, if you're this worried about your friend, you need to tell somebody."

Rogue swallowed nervously.

"It isn't that simple. He'll get mad...he'll hate me forever if I told anyone."

"Your friend might be in need of help and support. He might get mad at first, but he'll thank you for it eventually. I promise you that."

Rogue thought for a minute.

"Well, shall we continue?" He asked.

"No… I think that… I'm starting to get sleepy."

"Really? This must be a record."

Rogue laughed.

"Thank you, Mr. McCoy. For everything."

Hank nodded.

"Good night."

"Good night." Rogue got up and left, walking back to her room.


	7. Sparring and Talking

XXXXXX

After Professor Xavier finished up teaching mutant ethics, Rogue waited for the rest of the class to leave before walking back to the professor's desk.

"Is there something I can help you with Rogue?" He asked.

"Yes, professor. It's about John."

Rogue took a deep breath.

"John, he's...he's, uh," Rogue stammered. She wanted to tell Xavier about what she saw John doing they other day, but remembered his warning.

"What is it Rogue?" Xavier asked.

"I…I wanted to know, how, how did he end up here?"

Xavier looked surprised by her question.

"Jean found him. One day on the news my attention was drawn by of an enormous fire up a house. Jean went there and found John in the middle of the blaze, unharmed. She knew that if she left him, the others in the neighborhood would have murdered him. So she brought him back."

"Willingly?" Rogue asked.

"No, but he had no choice."

Rogue was silent, and then asked quietly, "How old was he?"

"He had just turned 14 and his mutation had just immerged." Xavier said.

Rogue shook her head.

"Thank you professor,"

Thankfully, Xavier didn't ask her why she wanted to know this and left the room, making her way to Logan's class. Rogue changed in the locker room and walked through the gym doors. She saw Logan was busy with the other students and looked around and finally saw John on the other side of the gym, away from everyone else, punching a bag. Slowly she walked up to him.

"John."

"Leave me alone." He said.

"John I'm not just going to pretend what I saw you doing the other day didn't happen. I'm your friend, and friends are there for each other. Whether you want them to be or not."

John ignored her and continued hitting the bag.

"I was going to tell the professor, but I decided not to." Still, John didn't say anything and circled to the other side of the punching bag. Rogue followed him.

"Why don't you talk to someone…like a physciatrist?"

John looked angry after her suggestion and punched the bag harder.

"Then talk to me." Rogue pleaded. "You can tell me anything."

After a short moment he shrugs and shakes his head at the same time. John removed the tape from his hands and began walking back to the locker room. Rogue narrowed her eyes at him.

"Fine, let's fight."

John stopped and looked back at her in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

She smirks in victory when she see the look his eyes at her, clearly thinking over the idea.

"And don't hold back on me, I can take it." Rogue said and put her fists up.

"Rogue."

"I'm serious, okay? Unless your afraid of a real sparring partner." She smiles sweetly when she says it, which prompts John to just shake his head at her behavior and eventually give in.

John circled around Rogue a couple times, then rushes at her suddenly, punching away. She blocks them all, but he drops down suddenly and sweeps her legs out from under her by swinging his leg into them. Rogue falls flat on her back and lies there for a moment, staring up at him smirking down at her, satisfied. She sits up on her hands and nods at him wordlessly, then gets back up and raises her fists again.

He raises his, also, and starts circling again, then charges with a jab with a kick aimed at her ribs. Rogue blocks the jab and the kick and comes back with a standing sidekick of her own, aimed at John's head, but he leans back to avoid the kick and drops down again to do another sweep. She scouts it out beforehand and simply hops over his leg and waits until he's standing again to kick him in his chest, making him stagger back from the force.

John looked at her in shock, surprised by her skill. She smiled at him in response and he finally spoke.

"I was born in Australia."

Rogue nodded.

"I know that."

But he didn't say anything after that. John raised his fists again, holding his place and stance. She raises hers as well and pauses, then charges at him with a fast series of jabs and low kicks. He blocks them all and counters in-between her attacks with some offense of his own, using jabs and kicks wherever he can.

They trade blocks and parries like this for a few seconds, flesh and gloves meeting each other over and over. At one point John ducked down and tries to sweep her feet again, but Rogue jumped and upon landing tried to do the same to him. He hops too, and swings a high roundhouse at her that goes over her head as she ducks.

While Rogue ducks she puts some spin in her legs and leaps in the air, spinning in a half-circle until she's facing up at him in mid-air with her feet stretched out at his chest. When John stops spinning and looks down again, he sees her two feet collide with his chest and shove off.

John falls onto his back and rolls backwards and up on his knees, while Rogue pushes off of him and lands on her back, then kicks her legs and pushes off the floor, standing upright again in one motion. They both pant heavily and glare at each other, but John breaks the silence by wiping his mouth off and standing up again.

"I really don't remember much about Australia. I moved to New York when I was 7, and started going to school."

"What was your favorite subject?"

John thought for a second.

"English," he answered and charged at her again.

Rogue leaped high in the air with jumping kick. John knocked her bare foot aside and blocks the jab aimed at his throat, then counters with a hard body blow that she blocks, but still stumbles back from his power.

He charges forward quickly to capitalize, and they trade more jabs and low kicks until she manages to kick him in his chest, pushing him back again. Rogue then jumps at him in the air with a high kick, but John grabs her leg suddenly and twists, throwing her into an uncontrolled roll that ends with her landing on her back.

Finally she rolls over and gets back on her feet, raising her fists again. Rogue starts hopping on her toes again, although weakly, and moves in a semi-circle off to his side.

"What about your parents?" She asked.

"What about them?"

"Tell me about them. What were they like?"

John starts to raise his own fists and follow her, completing a half-circle, and then lashes out with a few quick jabs. Rogue blocks them and returns with a few jabs of her own, and they then graduate to trading several kicks and punches, and hopping over leg sweeps and ducking under spinning kicks.

Rogue kicks high and he ducks, John returns with a punch that she blocks, she tries to kick him in his ribs but he knocks that aside and then counters with a kick that she also blocks. They block a few punches from each other again and then try to kick each other at the same time, which only ends up with both of them blocking the other's kick and pushing off, shoving them away.

"Well?" Rogue asked.

"No."

"No what?"

John jumps on her again and wraps an arm through one of hers. Rogue scrambles around and tries to reverse their positions, but he keeps an iron grip on her arm and tries to wrap his other arm over her throat. She fights hard and finally manages to flip herself over, worming out of his arm lock and placing one of her own on his wrist.

He tries to fight out of it, but she wraps her legs around his waist and starts rolling to her side, flipping over on top of John and pushes against his arm, pinning it against his chest. Rogue presses her forearm down on John's chest and tries to pin him, but he fights against it and manages to keep at least one shoulder from touching the mat.

John shifted out of the pin and tries to roll her over again, and they end up getting into another tumbling battle of holds, locks, and pin attempts. Rogue grunts at him during one of these attempts, "So, you gonna tell me?"

"Tell you what?" He grunts back.

"Your parents!"

"I told you, _no_."

Rogue tried to wrap an arm around his head, but John evades and goes after her exposed arm. She grunts at him again, "I'll keep asking until ya do."

"Okay, you wanna know?"

"Yes."

"_Fine_."

John growls and manages to grab Rogue around her torso, then rolls over and tries to pin her, going nowhere as she fights him on it hard. "They died, okay? They died."

He feels her head duck down and start rubbing into his chest hard, causing his skin to burn, then feels his grip on her loosen and finally slip as she breaks out. Rogue gets him a surprise hold and flips him onto the mat, landing on top of John and forcing his shoulders down, putting all her weight on him.

"How'd they die?"

John stared up at her for a minute before powering out from under her and knocking her on her back again. They tussle for another moment, eventually ending up with her getting some sort of wristlock on him from the side while kneeling. John shook his head, amazed that she was actually getting the better of him.

He starts standing up and mutters, "They were killed."

"Killed?" She asks, then is pulled from her feet as he breaks the lock, grabs her legs, and lifts them off the ground, literally pulling her feet our from underneath her.

"Whoa-OOF!"

John jumped on top of Rogue and pinned her to the mat. She just lies there and stares up at him, who pants and stares down at her.

"I killed them."

He watches her somewhat stunned and silent gaze, returning it with a stony one. "So you see? I'm a murderer."

With that said, he gets off her and heads back to the locker room. Rogue sits there through that long moment and just stares off after him... hardly thinking about anything at all, actually, besides those three words;

_I killed them._


	8. A Matter of Control

XXXXXX

The weather was sunny and temperate when Rogue woke up the next morning, and she was glad that she didn't have classes today. Another sleepless light passed for Rogue and it was because her mind was on John…again.

She rolled to her side and saw that Kitty was already awake. The brown-haired girl was sitting at her desk, idly flipping through a book.

"You read?" Rogue said, exaggerating a tone of surprise.

"That would've sounded harsher if you didn't sound like you just woke up," Kitty retorted, not bothering to look up.

Rogue scowled and rubbed her eyes. "What are you doing up so early, anyway?"

"Early? Look at the clock. It's nearly eleven."

"No it's not—" she protested, glancing at the clock. It read 10:45. "Jeeze, I can't believe I slept so late. Why are you still here?"

"I wanted to be here when you woke up."

"Why?"

Kitty put down her book and looked at her.

"There was an attack in Washington D.C last night. Magneto is responsible."

Rogue sighed and shook her head as she sat up and threw the covers off herself.

"Logan wants us to have a danger room session today, and then train in the gym after that." Kitty continued.

"It's Saturday." Rogue groaned.

"Logan said he is going to be stepping up our training because…he said that you, me, Bobby, and Peter have been impressing Xavier so much, that if we keep it up in just a few more weeks we will be officially part of the team." Kitty smiled.

"Wow…what about John?" Rogue suddenly asked.

"I don't know," Kitty admitted. "He's been suspended from the danger room for two weeks because of what he did last time. I overheard Logan talking with the professor and they thought he may need more time to develop better control of his powers."

Rogue frowned.

"Anyway, take a shower and get ready. Our session is at 11:30." Kitty said as she marked her place in the book she was reading, stood up and walked out of the room.

As Rogue stood in the shower her thoughts stayed on John. He nearly left the X-Jet at Alkali Lake because he was sick of being treated like a kid. She was already worried about John's state of mind, how would he take it if they made the team and he didn't?

As soon as she finished up she walked down to the locker room and pulled her uniform on and made her way to the danger room.

This time, Logan and Storm would be joining them. She stood in the middle of the large, metallic room waiting for the session to begin. Rogue crouched in preparation and stretched her limbs.

"Beginning the session," Xavier's voice came from over the loudspeakers in the control room.

Rogue tensed as the X-Men took up positions around her. The room shimmered and changed, with holograms altering the appearance of the room to look like a rocky terrain.

There were three robots. One for Rogue and Colossus, one for Storm and Logan and one for Iceman and Kitty.

Rogue and Colossus stood in front of their robot as it said, "Destroy enemies Rogue and Colossus," then began firing at them.

"Okay we're in trouble," said Rogue, now terrified as they hid behind a large rock.

"No we're not, we're going to destroy him now," said Colossus.

"How do you want to do that?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

"We metal up," said Colossus.

Colossus changed into his metal form and Rogue touched him and concentrated, making sure not to drain too much of his power. After a few seconds, Rogue was metaled up just like him.

They went to the robot and he blasted up some rocks with his missiles. The big rocks flew right at Rogue and Colossus but it deflected and the rocks flew away. Rogue and Colossus went right at the robot and knocked him to the ground. Then Rogue went to the head and hit him on the head and kept hitting him until the head broke down and Colossus hit all the other parts like missals and other weapons until the robot was completely destroyed.

At another place in the danger room Kitty and Iceman were fighting their robot. The robot shot some missiles at them and Bobby froze the first one but he did not see the second one and Kitty yelled, "Bobby".

She grabbed him and the missile went right threw the both of them and exploded behind them.

Then they attacked, Kitty went for his legs and grabbed one of them and phased it through the ground then she came up and grabbed the other leg and did the same. Iceman froze his head but then the robot tried to shoot some missiles again but Iceman froze them to it's body and the robot exploded. So that was two down and one to go.

At that moment Logan and Storm were fighting the last robot. Storm was firing lightning bolts at the robot. When it fell on the ground Logan attacked and cut his head of and then Storm used a final Lightning bolt and the robot exploded.

"Okay that went well," said Logan.

"Yes indeed we are going to talk about it now," said Storm.

The rocky terrain faded away and the team gathered for what Storm and Logan had to say.

"All right then Logan, what did you think of Rogue and Colossus," asked Storm.

"Yeah, I must say you two did a very good job there especially you Rogue. Your control over you're powers have grown a lot. Colossus you did a very good job there also giving your power to Rogue you have paid a lot of attention to everything and you saw everything, very well done both of you," said Logan.

Rogue smiled softly because Logan thought she did a good job.

"I agree with Logan but maybe the both of you should work on defending yourself but you two were great," said Storm. "And now Bobby and Kitty, you both were very good to but you two needed a plan or else you are reckless but you were very good and worked very good together and Logan what did you think of them?"

"Well I have to say a good defense is a good offence but Storm was right on one thing and that is that you needed a plan but it was great how you destroyed the robot, that was a good combination".

"Well we have to say that you guys really proved yourselves today," said Storm.

"Yes all of you great work and now get changed and meet me with the other kids in gym," said Logan.

Rogue walked to the locker room and changed out of her uniform and into her gym clothes and made her way to the gym. When she walked in she looked around but saw that John wasn't in the crowd of students that had gathered. She looked over at the other side of the gym where the weights and punching bags were kept but he wasn't over there either.

"Hey Rogue, come on." Kitty yelled.

As usual, Logan was paring everyone up. Rogue took off her shoes and stepped up on the mat.

"Ready?" She asked.

"I was born ready," Kitty responded and threw a right hook at Rogue.

Rogue had just enough time to lift her right arm to deflect the punch. Then her feet were shuffling quickly and she was moving into the southpaw stance.

Kitty made a left feint. Rogue threw up her left arm and blocked Kitty's right jab.

"You kept your left up," Rogue said with a hint of approval.

"So am I improving?"

Rogue kicked the back of Kitty's knee.

"I'll let you know."

Kitty stepped into a guard then ducked as Rogue's leg flew at her head in a high round-house kick. Rogue had barely regained her stance when she was faced with a right cross. Rogue raised her hand to stop the blow then immediately lunged at her, throwing a right back-fist. But Kitty blocked the jab with his right arm.

"You've been working on the combination," Rogue said. "If only you put this much focus into your target practice."

Kitty circled Rogue, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Rogue moved forward, throwing an uppercut.

Kitty fended off the uppercut with her left arm. That was when Rogue realized that she had repeated the same mistake she had made during their last sparring match.

Rogue grabbed Kitty's arm with her left hand and pulled Kitty towards her. With Kitty's shoulder tucked under her armpit, Rogue locked the arm in place. Facing her opponent, Rogue hooked her foot around Kitty's leg and pushed her backwards.

Kitty landed on the mat, wincing as Rogue applied pressure to her arm. Kitty tried to move her legs, but Rogue immobilized them by climbing on top of Kitty and lying across the full length of her body.

Rogue was forced to relinquish her hold on Kitty's arm to gain this foothold, but anticipated the fist that came flying towards her. She caught it with her right hand then seized Kitty by both wrists, pinning her arms to the mat. With one arm trapped on each side of her head, Kitty struggled to break free.

Rogue looked over when she heard the gym doors open and in walked John. The two immediately locked eyes and his words from yesterday echoed through her head.

_"I killed them…so you see, I'm a murderer."_

Before she could regain her concentration, she was rolled over and now Rogue was pinned beneath Kitty.

Kitty grabbed Rogue's hands and slammed them next to her head. Rogue could feel her heart beating faster as her eyes darted around the gym, looking for John.

"Rogue are you-" Kitty began but then gasped in pain.

Rogue looked up at her and saw the tiny veins on Kitty's face. She was draining her powers.

She quickly pushed Kitty up off her and she began squirming on the mat.

"Oh my god! Kitty are you alright!"

The rest of the class stopped what they were doing andLoganran over towards them.

"What happened?" Logan asked as he crouched down beside Kitty.

"I…we were…" Rogue tried to explain.

"I'm fine," Kitty said. "It was just an accident."

"Kitty, I'm sorry." Rogue said, tears now coming to her eyes.

"Rogue, it's okay." Kitty said as Logan helped her to her feet. "I'm not hurt-"

Rogue just shook her head angrily and looked down at her hands and remembered her sessions with Hank on controlling her powers. She knew it was too good to be true.

Rogue then turned and ran out of the gym as fast as she could, ignoring Logan who called after her, and John who watched her the whole way.


	9. Bobby Finds Out

XXXXXX

Rogue lay out as carefully as a corpse on the table, her head on a small, flat pillow, her arms by her sides, dozens of electrodes stuck to her skin. She remembered her previous sessions with Hank and how she had been like this for hours, helpless, immobile, being poked and prodded like a lab-rat.

Rogue looked over as Hank walked into the room.

"I am sorry, Rogue," Hank said, giving her booted foot a little pat without looking up from his clip board. "I know you must be terribly bored."

"Can't you rig up a TV-screen on the ceiling or something?" she asked hopefully. "I mean, if I have to keep doing this..."

"We'll see. So, tell me what happened."

Rogue sighed quietly.

"I was training with Kitty and when she grabbed a hold of my hands I accidentally started draining her."

"I know, she's okay. What I meant was how were you feeling before your powers started up?"

"I don't remember," she lied.

Hank smoothed her hair gently. "If you were thinking of Magneto, I assume you could have imagined your powers working."

"I wasn't thinking about Magneto," Rogue said, a little too firmly and looked up at Hank. "I felt...there was just this big angry NO-feeling inside me, and everything else just sorta bounced off it." She leaned back a bit, looking up at him inquiringly.

"Then I suggest that a small experiment is in order," he suggested, stepping back just a little, then leaning forward. "You should try to conjure the...no-feeling...within yourself again, then attempt a small skin-to-skin contact. If you object to taking the risk with me, we can find Logan, but I promise you, I do not mind."

He smiled reassuringly at her. "You can pull away at once if you feel anything."

Rogue nodded, anything was worth a try.

Before she could change her mind and get frightened again, she reached out and very carefully touched his cheek with one fingertip. Nothing happened right away, but it always took a second to work, she had a grace period of at least a second and a half, maybe two...

Okay, three seconds, nothing was happening, but maybe it was just...just because he was furry or something, or he resisted it somehow, or...

Five seconds, six, seven, nothing was happening...

Nothing happened. She took her finger back eventually, and they both stood there grinning like loons.

"See?" Hank said, looking rather smug.

Rogue couldn't help but smile a little.

"In exploring the nature of your powers, methodically and scientifically, a solution was found." He smiled at her. "Your powers are triggered by fear. They are, I believe, a form of self-defense mechanism. I remember you telling me that the first time it happened was during your first kiss?"

Rogue nodded.

"And I expect you were very, very nervous at that moment?"

"I was," she said softly.

"And your powers kicked in along with the adrenaline." He peeled off his heavy rubber gloves, pontificating happily.

"I believe that now that you understand the nature of your powers, you will be able to learn to control them at will. The reason you could not do so before was that you were afraid of them, and afraid of using them, and that fear exacerbated the problem. Then, of course, any form of physical contact became frightening to you, so your powers just kept working all the time. With practice and the maintenance of emotional self-control I believe you will in time have full control over your ability."

XXXXXX

Later in the evening, Bobby stood in the shower, letting the warm water wash over him. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it," called Bobby.

"Who else could it be?" snapped John's voice irritably.

"What do you want?" asked Bobby.

"I need to get something, hurry up."

"Relax, I'll be out in a minute."

Bobby turned the water off and quickly dried himself off and changed into his clothes. He opened the door and John stood in front of him holding his left arm out. A cut that was bleeding profusely caused Bobby to gasp.

"Can you please move?" snarled John.

"What happened?"

"I uh, hurt myself accidentally." stammered John.

He then rushed over to the sink and went it under the water. But it wasn't doing anything; the blood kept coming.

"Here," said Bobby unable to stand it any longer.

He walked over and grasped John's arm. Bobby opened up the mirror and took out an antiseptic kit. He first applied pressure on the wound.

"Uh, Peter, Kitty, Rogue, and I are going to the movies. Want to go?" Bobby asked.

John shook his head no.

"Come on, you haven't done anything with us for a while."

"Look Bobby," said John emotionlessly, "I can't go to the movies tonight. I actually went to classes today and I have a pile of work to catch up on."

After a minute Bobby dabbed the cut with antiseptic causing John to curse. Bobby then applied some medicine.

"There," said Bobby softly.

"Well...thanks," said John. It was obviously hard for him to say that. He then swept from the bathroom Bobby looking after him.

Bobby walked over to his side of the room and sat on his bed, putting his shoes on. He was about to get up when he noticed the little table in between their beds had a few drops of blood on it and the drawer was opened. He walked over and his eyes widened when he saw a straight razor, opened a little with more blood surrounding it. He instantly began thinking of the cut on John's arm. Did he do this to himself? Did he cut his own arm?

Carefully Bobby picked up the razor, folded it up and put it in his pocket.

As soon as Bobby left the room and was gone John walked back to the room and threw himself down on the bed, starring up at the ceiling.

_"Why do I have to go?" John looked up at his mother with pleading eyes as she lit a few candles._

_"I'm sorry, honey. There's nothing I can do about it."_

_"I was just trying to…he hit you again. I thought he could have hurt you."_

_"I know. John, I'll see you again. I promise."_

_John tried not to cry as his mom walked over toward him and was about to hug him when a car pulling up in the driveway interrupted her._

_"You're fathers home. Go back to your room John."_

_John quickly turned and ran out of his parents room and back to his before his dad entered the house._

John opened his eyes, feelings of anger and rage filling him. He got to his feet and ripped opened the drawer for the razor and found nothing there.

"Where the fuck is it?" John yelled out loud and stormed into the bathroom and tore it apart, finding nothing. John slammed his hands on the sides on the mirror in frustration and stared at his reflection.

"John." A soft voice called.

John slowly turned around and saw that Rogue and Bobby had entered his room.


	10. Revealing the Past

XXXXXX

"Hey," John said slowly, observing the looks on both their faces. "I thought you guys were going to the movies."

"We changed our minds." Rogue said. "We heard a lot of noise coming from here. Looking for something?"

"Alright, enough." Bobby snapped. "I know what you've been doing John,"

John stared hard at Bobby for a second before glaring at Rogue.

"She didn't have to tell me, I found out." Bobby said.

Bobby pulled out the straight razor from his pocket and held it up.

"What is this?"

"John. Please. We can help you." Rouge pleaded.

John's silence was almost unbearable, normally raging eyes mute with cold fury. And yet, he still refused to speak.

"Listen John, there is something really horrible in your life if it's causing you to do this," Rogue continued. "But cutting isn't going to help you. It's not going to help in the short term, and it's not going to help solve the problem long term. You're letting that piece of sharp metal control your life. You need help."

"Are you saying that I'm mental? Look who's talking," spat John.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Bobby asked. "How can you do this to yourself?"

John lowered his eyes and shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do know. John...you need help."

"I'm fine."

"Stop denying it."

"I'm not...I am fine."

"You're obviously not."

John slammed his fist into the wall. "I don't need to listen to this...I'm perfectly fine." He snapped.

"John..."

"Just leave me alone." John said and slowly walked over to his bed and sat down, his back facing them. After a few minutes of silence, the pyromaniac spoke up again.

"No one can help me."

"Yes, they can." Bobby said. "There are doctors and psychiatrists and councilors who-."

"You don't seem to fucking understand Bobby." John stood up to face him. "I don't need or want help from those fucking people. They don't know me, so they don't fucking care what happens to me. No one does."

"John, what's wrong with you? You're our friend; you know we care about you," Rogue said.

John sat back down and lowered his head, starring at the floor and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"I feel so lost. I just want it to all go away,"

Bobby and Rogue were stunned to silence. He never though John would be this bad. They walked over and sat on either side of John on the bed.

"John, I know you don't want to talk to the professionals about this. We're your friends, and we do care. I promise we'll listen if you want to talk about it with us. We don't have to be sparring to talk," Rogue said.

John looked up at her in surprise.

"You can tell us what's wrong." She continued. "We won't tell anyone else if you don't want us too. Please, just tell us."

John closed his eyes for a minute.

"Where do I start?"

"Why don't you start with what you told me in the gym?" Rogue said.

Bobby looked at her, not knowing what she was talking about.

John pulled out his lighter from his pocket and stared at it, not playing with it. Finally, he began to speak.

"My dad was an alcoholic, he was usually unemployed. My mom worked nights. They use to get into fights all the time over finances, sometimes he would hit her. When I got older I would make him mad so he would leave her alone and hit me instead. One day my dad got fired on his first day at work because he was drunk. He came home and they started fighting and he hit her again. I got so mad...I attacked him."

John stopped and took a deep breath. Rogue then touched his arm.

"My dad, uh, he was going to send me away to live in some foster home. My mom wasn't going to do anything about it. I kind of...I kind of scared her that day. On my last night I was trying to say goodbye to her. She was in her room, and she uh, lit some candles...

John trailed off after he said that. He flicked the lighter open and stared at the flame. Rogue had a good idea where he was headed with this. After a few minutes past, John closed the lighter and continued.

"My dad came home…and I was so mad at him. I wanted him to die. The next thing I knew I smelled smoke…a fire was coming from my parents room. I got out of the house, firefighters arrived, they tried to put it out but it just kept getting worse and worse."

John looked at Bobby, then at Rogue.

"I started it. I killed them."

Rogue shook her head.

"I wasn't your fault."

"That's what the professor told me when I first got here. He said my mutation manifested itself that night. The fire grew to be too strong and I couldn't control it."

"So what'd you do after that?" Bobby asked.

"I put it behind me. They gave me a room, moved you in a few weeks later."

John turned his head and looked at Rogue.

"Then I met you three years later."

"So…why is this all coming back to you now?" Rogue asked.

John shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe it was going to Boston...and seeing how your family was with you." John said, looking at Bobby. "Seeing what I didn't have…it just brought something back."

"John," Bobby began. "I'm sorry about what happened to you. You know you could have talked to me about anything. You're just like a brother to me."

John couldn't help but smile after that. They all got to their feet, Bobby and Rogue pulled him into a group hug, and surprisingly, John didn't object.

"You know…it's a funny kind of a thing but, I actually feel better that I got all that off my chest."

"I'm glad," Rogue said and they let each other go.

"So...want to go to the movies now?" Bobby suggested.

John smirked.

"Yeah, I'll go. But you're paying."


	11. Murderworld

XXXXXX

After the movie ended, Bobby, John, Rogue, Kitty, and Peter stood outside of a building that had a sigh reading "Arcade" over the entrance. John shoved his hands in his pockets and looked over at Peter.

"You know, for some reason, I thought you'd get us drunk or something. You seem like that kind of guy."

Peter's brows furrowed.

"Now, what's that supposed to mean?"

"This is a freakin' arcade, man." John groaned.

"Don't knock it 'til you tried it, smartass." Rogue said.

They all entered, inside the arcade owner, an excitable little man with flaming red hair greeted the group enthusiastically.

"Welcome!"

The kids shifted around uncomfortably.

"Oh, come on! You're in an arcade! Loosen up a little!"

Kitty coughed politely. John snorted derisively.

"Hmm, this won't do. Nothing in this room's going to interest you, I see. I wonder…"

The owner leaned in close.

"How would you all like to try…Murderworld?"

Kitty raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, it's not actually about murdering people." The owner assured.

"Damn. I thought you were serious." John responded.

"It's a highly realistic three-dimensional game."

"Bet we could do one better at the Danger—" Bobby began but Rogue elbowed him hard. Bobby stopped talking and rubbed his arm.

"We'll give it a shot." Rogue said.

The owner led the group to a couple of chairs. After they sat down the owner placed headsets on them all. In no time at all, the room took on the appearance of a carnival.

"Great. A carnival." John scoffed while getting to his feet, than looked at Bobby. "This is like some place Drake would take a girl out on a date."

"Hey!"

"Uh, guys…you might wanna turn around." Kitty said, frightened.

John, Rogue, and Bobby turned to find Mystique behind them. Rogue's eyes widen in shock. Mystique took out a knife, and charged toward Rogue. Rogue dived out of the way but Mystique continues through and slits Bobby's throat.

"Bobby!" Kitty screamed.

Bobby fell to the ground as Mystique cackles. Colossus metaled up and charges forward, smacking Mystique across the head with a punch. Her head flies off, revealing sparking cables. Kitty kneels down beside Bobby.

"Oh my God…"

Colossus put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's not real."

Kitty couldn't take her eyes off Bobby's still corpse.

In the arcade, Bobby awoke and stood with the owner. He looked over to the wall, where the others are still plugged into Murderworld. The owner turned to him and grinned.

"See how fun the arcade can be?"

"Yeah." Bobby said slowly and watched his friends progress on a monitor.

The group entered a house of mirrors. Reflections of Magneto surrounded them.

"This is insane. I want out." Kitty yelled.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry. It's not that easy." The owner's voice came over the system. "And anyway, things are about to get much more interesting."

After he said that, the glass inside the house of mirrors began shattering. Kitty quickly grabbed a hold of Colossus and Rogue, making all three intangible. John, however is ripped to shreds by the storm of glass. Rogue screamed in terror.

John then suddenly awoke and joins Bobby.

"I got a bad feeling about this."

The owner continues smiling.

"Two down. And you're mutants."

He looked at John and Bobby.

"I think we'll have to up the ante."

Magneto was at the center of the swirling glass. Colossus turned back to normal while Rogue ran at Magneto, touching his neck. Nothing happened.

"Rogue, they're robots! Your powers are no good!" Colossus shouted.

"Damn it!"

Suddenly, Magneto launches awning toward Rogue. Colossus leaps for her and rolls with her out of the way.

"Thanks."

She looks down.

"Peter, your leg…"

Colossus's leg has been cut by the awning.

Outside were the rest of the group was still plugged in, Bobby looked over at Peter's leg and saw that it was bleeding.

Bobby looks over to Colossus. His leg is bleeding.

"What are you—"

The owner is enthralled by the game, no longer paying attention to Bobby and John.

"John, it's real." Bobby said.

"What?"

He looks at Peter and saw the cut.

"Wait. If it's real than why aren't we really dead?"

"I don't know. I'm confused. Maybe it's just wounds alone."

Bobby then iced up and launches himself at the owner.

"Turn it off!"

John runs over to the others.

"Don't unplug them!" The owner shouted.

John stopped and turns.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because if you do, you'll kill them. The game has to be turned off first—and only I can do that!"

"Then do it." Bobby growled.

The owner stands up. Bobby is still iced.

"I wanna see how it ends."

Meanwhile, Kitty, Rogue, and Colossus search for Magneto in a maze.

"Okay, this isn't fun anymore." Kitty said.

"Was it ever?" Rogue responded.

"This guy means business," Colossus spoke. "We gotta get out of here.'

Suddenly, Magneto stands before them. He lifts his hand, and the walls of the maze begin to enclose on the mutants.

Bobby watches the monitors in horror.

"Wait. How did you even know to put Magneto and Mystique in there? If you didn't know we were mutants?" John asked.

The owner smiled.

"Mystique has used this facility before. I've helped loads of super villains with their training."

"Why?"

"Like Mystique, most of them pay well. And, if Mystique learns that I've killed you, she'll probably pay a hefty sum to yours truly." The owner answered.

John flicked his lighter.

"That's it, I'm frying him."

"No, John!" Bobby yelled. "You can't, or they'll die!"

"Good boy."

He turns to the monitor, maliciously.

"Now watch them squirm."

"No!"

Bobby slammed his fist into the owner's face.

"John! Unplug them!"

"Got it!"

John runs to the others and deactivates their headsets.

Suddenly, Kitty blips away.

"Kitty!" Rogue yelled, then looked in fear at Colossus.

"Peter what's going on?"

"I dunno"

Before they could speak again, Colossus and Rogue collectively come to. Rogue is up in no time, approaching the owner.

"All right, what the hell?"

"Look, I didn't mean it!"

"Oh, we see. You didn't mean to kill us. Everything's okay, then." Kitty said.

"Like hell. I'm crushing him," Peter said, punching his two fists together while walking towards him. But before he could do anything, Kitty grabbed his shoulder.

"Whoa, Peter. Sarcasm."

"Oh, right."

John rounded on the owner.

"This was all 'bout money, right?"

"Of course." The owner replied.

"Well, you tried to kill us. You failed. End of story?" John asked.

"I got nothing against you."

"Good. See you 'round."

Bobby's eyes widen.

"Wait, that's it?"

"Yup, that's it." John said and signaled for the others to follow him. "Let's go."


	12. Recovery

XXXXXX

After the group exited the arcade they headed back to the mansion and now were standing in front of Logan, explaining to him what had happened.

"So this guy said he worked with Mystique before?" Logan questioned.

They nodded.

"And why didn't you come straight home after you guys were done at the movies? It's way past curfew."

"Well, Peter thought it was great idea." John spoke up. "Somehow, I think Xavier would be a lot less pissed if we just got drunk, which, by the way, was my idea in the first place."

"Seriously, Allerdyce, it's two in the morning. And shut up."

"So…I kinda wanna go to biology class now. Which is weird." Kitty said.

"Definitely weird," Rogue responded.

"Well, you guys do complain about not going on missions," Logan reminded.

"Yeah, I'll never do that again." Bobby spoke. "Two of us died. No wonder you want us to train so much."

"Hope that's a lesson well learned for all of you,"

John scoffed.

"I'm looking at you, Allerdyce."

"Yeah, yeah."

The next morning Rogue came down for class and worry instantly came over her when she saw that John's seat was empty. She locked eyes with Bobby and he just shrugged. Taking a glance at her watch, she saw that there was five minutes before class officially started and spun around, quickly heading back upstairs to see what was up with John.

Rogue got to his door and opened it, not even bothering to knock and sighed in relief that John was still asleep, laying face down on his bed.

"John," Rogue hissed. "Wake up."

John grunted and pressed his face further into the pillow. Rogue walked over and shook him.

"Wake up!"

After he didn't respond, Rogue flicked his ear.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"Get up!"

"No!"

"Yes!" She yelled while trying to pull the blanket off him.

"What do I need to get up for?" John asked, irritated.

"Class is going to start in a few minutes."

"I need a better reason than that."

Rogue sighed.

"Fine, want to go get breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry."

"We could just go for a nice walk, get some fresh air." Rogue now spoke with irritation.

"The A/C's on. That's all the fresh air I need."

She frowned. "So you intend to waste the entire day by just laying around?"

"Yep!" John grinned.

"You're not even going to consider doing anything productive today?"

"Nope." He smiled and stretched out, yawning contentedly. "I'm not moving a muscle today."

Rogue sighed and rubbed her forehead in thought.

"Not a muscle, huh?"

Rogue stood casually next to the bed, as if nothing was amiss. Then, before John could react, she sat down and grabbed his legs, pulling them onto her lap.

"Ack! Rogue, what are you…"

John was then instantly overcome in laughter as Rogue began running her fingers up and down the sole of his bare foot.

"Rogue...stop it!" John managed to yell out, trying to pull his leg away from her. Rogue, giggling, held on to his ankle tighter with one hand and kept tickling his foot with the other. John squirmed and writhed as Rogue continued, smiling just at the sight of John's laughing.

Wanting it to continue, Rogue quickly sat on John's legs and began tickling both feet then laughed as John let out an honest to god shriek.

After a minute she looked back over her shoulder at the giggling pyromaniac, who was now doing more panting than laughing, and grinned. "Going to get up now?"

"Ye -hehe- sss!" John choked out as her nails lightly scraped up and down his instep.

"Ready for me to stop, then?"

"YES!"

Rogue finally stopped and ran to the door before he could possibly retaliate. John shook his head as he caught his breath before getting up to get dressed, making a promise to himself to get Rogue back for this.

After getting done with classes, John couldn't help but feel a little envious as he watched Bobby, Rogue, Peter, and Kitty head to the dressing room to prepare for their danger room session.

A day ago he overheard Bobby and Peter talking about them becoming part of the team and started to wonder just how far ahead they were getting of him. John looked over and saw Logan finishing up talking with Ororo and slowly walked up to him.

"Uh…Logan."

"What do ya want?"

"I was wondering…I know there is a few more days in my suspension, but do you think I can join you guys for this session?"

Logan looked a little surprised and took a deep breath.

"You think you've learned your lesson?"

"Yeah...I'll be good." John said sarcastically.

Logan rolled his eyes.

"Well…I suppose it's alright, go suit up."

John was about to say thank you but Logan interrupted him.

"But if you pull anything like you did last time, you'll be sparring with me tomorrow."

Pyro quickly pulled on a uniform and walked into the training dome, receiving surprised looks from the others.

"What are you doing here?" Rogue asked.

"Logan's letting me back in," Pyro grinned.

Before Rogue could say anything more, the lights turned off for a second, as they all looked around. The room began to change its size, its shape, its color, and soon they found themselves in the middle of an empty street, though they had not left the room. A gigantic robot appeared behind a building, lifting its massive hand towards them.

"Mutants, surrender or be exterminated," said the hollow metallic voice of the gigantic robot.

"Great…robots, again. I'm so bored of this stupid program… I mean, who can believe that someone has these gigantic things ready to start killing mutants? We do not live in a comic book," said Kitty, rolling her eyes.

"It's your paranoid professor… thank him for this program," added Pyro, lifting his arms towards the robot and releasing a burst of fire, which collided with the robot's hand.

"Concentrate on the battle and stop the chatter!" said Logan with anger in his voice.

After that, Nightcrawler started teleporting around the danger room, getting people to safety. Iceman, Shadowcat, and Colossus stuck together as Iceman froze two missiles but missed the third one which struck a car.

After the car exploded, pieces of rubble came flying toward Colossus, who quickly metaled up and the rubble shattered upon impact, leaving him unharmed.

Rogue stood with Pyro as he was extinguishing a large fire in a building when a fireball erupted, Pyro quickly grabbed Rogue around the waist and held it back as it came close to engulfing them. They soon regrouped with Iceman, Shadowcat, and Colossus.

"Peter where are the others?"

"Nightcrawler's getting civilians to safety, Storm's leaving it obstacles and Cyclops is trying to slow it down."

Lasers sweep the nearby remains of a house and another missile is launched right passed the X-Kids, Nightcrawler then teleported behind them.

"Keep moving! Ve are running out of time!"

The X-Men continued to move.

"Nightcrawler, you get everyone to safety?" Iceman asked.

"You think he just decided to abandon his job, unfinished, to come and baby-sit us?"

Rogue looked frustrated as Storm flu down to them.

"I set up a tornado back there; if Logan fails the tornado should do it. If not then hope for the best."

"What happened to Cyclops?" Kitty asked.

"He couldn't make it. Watch out Storm, your tornado died out pretty fast. He's coming and fast." Logan warned.

"So why aren't you slowing him down?"

"Relax me and tin man got this."

"Logan we work as a team." Storm said.

A giant robot lands a half mile away and the ground shook.

"Good luck with that!"

Logan looked over to Colossus who grinned, knowingly.

"Fastball Special?"

Logan nodded. Colossus picked up Logan, spun him around twice and threw Logan directly at the robot. Logan flies out through the other side of the robot as Nightcrawler teleports into the air, catches Logan and teleports them back to the ground as the robot fell over.

"Simulation terminated." The computer voice came over the room as it morphs back into the large, circular metal room they all knew.

"Hey Colossus, you throw like a girl." Pyro said. Colossus grinned and playfully shoved him as he exited the room. Rogue walked over and stood next to Pyro.

"That was easy… wonder if they'll start spanking us when they realize we beat these things all too easily…" said Rogue, crossing her arms.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" said Pyro with a smile.


	13. Late Night Snack

XXXXXX

Later that night Rogue wasn't tired, in fact she was wide awake. It was almost becoming routine to be awake at this time at night. After a day of training she thought she would have been asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, but it was now past midnight and she was still tossing and turning.

Sighing, Rogue pulled the blanket off her and got to her feet pulling her black robe on, deciding to go down to the kitchen for something to eat.

The refrigerator door opened, filling the kitchen with the faintest glow of light. Rogue quirked an eyebrow when she noticed John sitting in the window seat, gazing up at the stars. Grabbing the jar of pickles off of the top shelf, she kicked on the night light with her foot, shut the fridge and walked over to sit next to him.

"What are you still doing up?" Rogue asked.

John shrugged, glancing down at his knee. "I couldn't sleep."

"Does stargazing make you sleepy?" Rogue opened the jar, plucking out a pickle and letting the juice drip off of it, shaking it a bit before recapping the jar and taking a bite.

"I don't know. I've never done it before." John looked over at Rogue seeing her take a bite of the pickle and made a face.

"Ugh. How can you eat those?"

Rogue laughed. "It's a brine-soaked cucumber. They take a little getting used to for some people. Others just hate them."

John leaned his head against the window.

"Have you ever tried one?"

"No,"

"Then how do you know there bad?"

John looked at the jar and grimaced.

"Just an educated guess."

Rogue took another pickle out of the jar and handed to him.

"Just try it. One bite."

John took it reluctantly and bit in to it, swallowing it slowly as if he were eating something poisoned. Rogue rolled her eyes. John looked up at her and down at the pickle again, than took another bite.

"Ah," Rogue said triumphantly.

"Oh shut up,"

"Don't you like to try new things?"

"No. My mom use to say I was a "fussy eater." Fussy eater is just another word for big pain in the ass."

Rogue clamped her mouth tighter to stop herself from laughing with her mouth full. John finished up and shrugged.

"I'm not going to die without a reason. And, if I'm meant to die eating a pickle, so be it."

Taking another bite of her pickle, Rogue smiled. "I wouldn't let you die eating a pickle."

John smiled back.

"Want to get out of here?"

'What do you mean?"

"There's a café close to here that's still opened," John said while looking at the clock. "I mean, if you don't want to that's fine-

"I'll go," Rogue said, a little too quickly. Rogue got up and put the jar back in the refrigerator. "Just give me a minute to get dressed."

Rogue quickly went back up to her room and changed, careful not to wake Kitty and met John at the door of the main entrance.

The two walked down the street to the café in silence. Ever since the night she and Bobby confronted him and he opened up to them, John really seemed to be acting like himself again. Rogue just hoped it would last. Even so, she was still tempted to tell the professor.

The two of them agreed to continue to watch their friend. Bobby made sure to remove all the sharp objects from the room to make sure that John didn't try to cut himself again.

Walking inside, the two of them sat down across from each other at a booth.

"You've never had coffee?"

Rogue shook her head. "Nope. Never bothered."

John shook his head and motioned to the waitress at the other end of the counter, drying plates. When she came over, dishrag still in hand, John said, "Can you get her a cup of coffee? I need to get her addicted."

The woman, graying hair pulled back in a ponytail, deep laugh lines around her eyes and mouth, cigarette-stained teeth unveiled with a wide smile, voice deep and vodka-drenched. "Sure thing, sweetie. Comin' right up."

Giving her friend a glare, Rogue leaned forward. "You actually want me to try something that Kitty often described to me as sludge?"

"Yes, what does Kitty know?"

He trailed off as their waitress, set a mug of steaming brown liquid in front of them. Rogue sniffed at it, then pulled the mug closer. "Well, it smells okay, I guess." She took a tentative sip. "Ah! Hot!"

Rogue reached past John and grabbed his glass of water with lemon, taking a few big gulps. Setting the glass down, she coughed.

Laughing, John shook his head. "Try adding some cream. If you don't like it, sugar. You got me to like pickles, I can get you to like coffee."

Skeptical, Rogue did add cream, and poured a bit of sugar from the dispenser on the counter into her mug, looking around for a spoon. Not finding one, she grabbed John's knife and stirred it with the end that didn't have butter on it.

She lifted the cup to her lips again, but blew gently on the liquid, her lips pursed loosely. Wincing slightly, Rogue took another sip. Seemingly surprised, she open her eyes, setting down her cup.

John raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response.

"Well, it's not completely awful, but...eh, it'll take some getting used to."

John poked Rogue with his fork and shook his head. "What am I ever going to do with you?"

Rogue smiled back as they looked in each others eyes. A weird feeling than began to build inside her. It was like she felt something for John...something more than friendship.


	14. Times Like These

XXXXXX

The next morning, Bobby awoke prepared for another session of Logan making their lives hell in the Danger Room only to find out the he, Rogue, Kitty, Peter, and John all had a much deserved day off.

Bobby opened the refrigerator and took out a coke. After hearing the good news, Peter soon disappeared with some other friends, and Rogue and Kitty went off to do something together. Rogue suggested that Bobby did something with John.

Meanwhile, back at his room John sat at his desk, grabbing the mouse and tried to move down the screen but the computer froze again.

"Not again," he growled, clenching his fist angrily. "One of these days I'm gonna kick this piece of shit out the window."

By this time Bobby had come back into the room and sat down on the bed, now beginning to laugh at John's behavior. He had zero patients for anything.

Suddenly, John slammed his fist down on the keyboard, making Bobby jump a little.

"Jeez, John calm down," Bobby said but John ignored him and continued cursing at the computer.

"John."

Bobby began poking his shoulder but he still didn't respond. Bobby began poking him more rapidly until John spun around and grabbed his finger, shooting him a warning look. Bobby grinned and began poking John with the other hand.

John grabbed the other hand and Bobby quickly laced his fingers with John's and pushed against his strength. John pushed back and they were now in a "who's stronger" competition.

John, having a short temper beat Bobby by driving him into a kneeling position.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow," Bobby said, trying to pull his hands away from John.

"I'm not playing with you," John said, releasing Bobby.

Bobby crawled away and John walked toward him, menacingly.

"You come near me and I'll pour this on you!" Bobby threatened, grabbed his can of coke.

John rolled his eyes and sat back down on the chair, unplugging the computer than plugged it back in again.

"Why are you still here, I thought you were with Peter and the others," John asked.

"I didn't want to go. Besides, I felt like swimming anyway. Feel like joining me? You look like you could use it." Bobby said, noticing that John was sweating a little.

"No thanks."

"Come on, it's been a while since just you and I hung out."

John sighed and looked out the window, it was rather hot out. He looked on as Bobby got out his black swimming trunks that had a light blue design on it that resembled ice. He then looked a deep breath.

"Alright, give me a minute to find my swim trunks."

John changed into his red and orange swim trunks and was waiting for Bobby by the edge of the pool when he felt himself pushed in as Bobby had tackled him from behind.

"What the-," John sputtered before landing in the water. Bobby laughed as John's head shot up through the water.

"I'm going to get you for that!" John yelled, taking off after Bobby.

Bobby started to swim away from John.

John came up behind him, quick as a fish in the water and lunged in retaliation, dunking Bobby as he pushed his head down. After a few seconds, John let go and Bobby came up sputtering.

"You'll never beat me in the water, you should just give up now," John laughed. Bobby shook the hair out of his eyes and narrowed them.

"Wanna bet?"

John's eyes widened in response as the water around them suddenly plummeted several degrees from Bobby's iced up hands. He backstroked quickly to get out of range, but not quickly enough as with a grin Bobby dove at him. Splashing him, John twisted away, but felt Bobby's ice-cold hands as they brushed over his legs when Bobby made a grab for him.

Diving deeper, John came up underneath him to grab Bobby's ankles and pull, dunking him again. As he kicked for the surface, Bobby tried to push him under again as he passed, only to find himself on the receiving end of the dunking again.

"Had enough?" John asked, when Bobby came up for air after his fourth trip under. Bobby wiped the water out of his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, I concede this round," Bobby said.

John grinned and let his guard down, thinking the horseplay was over. When John raised his hands to slick his hair back, Bobby took advantage.

"Round two!" he yelled and launched himself under the water, picked John up and threw him, making a small title wave hit the shore.

Bobby then grabbed a hold of John's ankles and began dragging him through the water. John opened his eyes under the water, staring up at the dancing light that was the surface, regaining his wits and kicking free of Bobby's grip, swimming to the surface.

As soon as he came up John was grabbed in a headlock.

"Give up." Bobby asked

"No!" John said and got shoved under again.

"Say it." Bobby said letting him up and began to muss with John's hair, knowing that he hated it.

"You boys enjoying yourselves?"

Bobby let John go and looked up to see Rogue and Kitty standing by the edge of the pool watching them, both smiling at the two. They both had on bikinis, Rogue's was black while Kitty's was purple. Needless to say the boys liked what they saw.

"You guys are acting like little kids," Rogue said.

John looked at her and smiled, "Aw come on, we're only eighteen."

"Besides, we hardly ever get a chance to act like this, live a little," said Bobby and then splashed the both of them.

The girls responded by jumping into the pool and splashing back.

"Now this is fun!"

The four of them played around in the water for about a half an hour, dunking each other, and playing chicken.

When it was time to get out, John stood on the edge of the pool and took Rogue's hand, helping her out of the pool.

Rogue looked up at him and smiled, John winked in return. She walked over to sit with Kitty while John kept watching her until he was tackled onto the grass by Bobby.

The girls laughed at them and they continued to wrestle until John sat on top of Bobby, pinning him to the grass.

"Was that really called for?" He asked.

"God you weight a lot," Bobby grunted before shoving John off of him and wrestling around for a few moments on the ground. When he had John pinned down by the arms after a long struggle, he leaned down and whispered;

"Yes, it was necessary…to get you to stop flirting." He winked at his best friend with a smile before releasing him and rising, brushing the grass off his swim trunks.

"Flirting?" John said in disbelief, rising and getting to his feet. "No way."

"Oh yes you were," Bobby grinned back. "And I think she likes you too."

As they continued to talk, Kitty was walking after Rogue, still not believing what her best friend just told her and was determined to get her to tell John.

"Tell him," Kitty urged.

"Shut up," Rogue hissed back.

"Why don't you tell him now?"

"I'll tell him when I'm ready."

Kitty narrowed her eyes and tackled Rogue, straddling her hips before she began to mercilessly tickle her. Rogue laughed and fought to get away. But Kitty's grip was firm, and soon Rogue began to beg for mercy.

"Stop!...Please!...No more!" Rogue gasped as she fought Kitty's merciless fingers.

"Say it!" Kitty commanded as an evil smirk began to grace her features. Rogue's eyes widened.

"No!...Please!...Not here!"

"Say it!" Kitty commanded again, cutting off her begging, tickling her sides faster now. By this time, John and Bobby were both watching them with curious eyes.

"Please no!"

"Say it or I'll tickle your feet!"

Rogue looked around helplessly before finally submitting.

"Alright! I like John!"

"As more than a friend?"

"Yes!"

Kitty then stopped and looked up at the boys, Bobby was smirking at his best friend as if to say 'I told you so.' John finally raised one eyebrow.

"Well...what can I say, she has good taste."


	15. Training Day

XXXXXX

The day off the X-Kid's got ended just as soon as it began, and now Bobby stood on the large mat in the centre of the brightly lit training room and looked on as John took a defensive pose in front of him.

He glanced over his shoulder at some of the other kids that Logan was helping train and didn't see the roundhouse kick coming at him.

John looked down as Bobby fell to one knee.

"I wasn't ready," Bobby said, clutching his stomach.

"Too bad," John smirked.

John raised an eyebrow as he darted forward and slapped the side of Bobby's head before he could stop him and then danced back out of range.

Only the sudden flash in John's eyes alerted Bobby as he swung out with a clenched fist and Bobby's snapped back just out of range before his solid right-hook could connect.

John didn't give him time to recover and spun into a strong kick to take his legs out from under him. Bobby found himself on his back with John's foot on his chest.

"This is getting old. I need a tougher partner...like Kitty."

Bobby growled and shoved John's foot away, getting back to his feet. John feinted left and then spun to bring his elbow back to slam into Bobby's side as he made a wild grab for him.

Bobby clutched his torso as pain exploded along it and wheezed. Bobby glared at him, then lunged forward with a furious shout but John stood his ground to clap the two of his hands on the front of his shirt, throw himself backwards and very neatly send Bobby flying over his head.

Kitty took a bottle of water from Rogue with a smile and sucked at the cool fluid as they watched John duck a wild grab and jabbed an elbow in Bobby's kidneys.

John then hooked a foot around Bobby's ankle to send him crashing to the ground once more. Rogue grinned at Kitty then yelled out to John. "John, stop playing with him and go for the kill!"

Bobby scowled as he got to his feet. "Playing with me?" His lip curled. "I'll show you playing…"

Kitty winced as Bobby grabbed for John and he danced under his arm and punched him squarely between the shoulder blades to send him stumbling forwards.

"I get winner," Rogue said to Kitty. "You get the loser."

Kitty looked on as John then delivered a hefty slap to the back of Bobby's head to send him face forward onto the mats.

"I'm just guessing, but I think you'll be facing John," she said as John planted a foot on Bobby's head and grinding his face into the mat with a malicious grin. John took a step back, letting Bobby get back to his feet.

Bobby lunged forward and kicks at John's face, but to his surprise the pyromaniac caught his foot and twist it so Bobby lands in the ground. John instantly straddled Bobby's waist and pins his arms to the ground.

Grinning victoriously, John looked into Bobby's clear blue eyes and asked, 'How was that?'

Scowling, Bobby tried to fight John's grip, but he found himself very firmly attached to the ground.

"Come on," John growled playfully as he released on of Bobby's hands and patted his cheek, "Can't you put up more of a fight?"

"Okay, match over," Rogue said getting up.

John got up off Bobby who rolled away.

"Don't I get a little break?" John asked as Rogue stepped up on the mat.

"I'm afraid not," Rogue grinned.

He started circling her and raises his hands, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on her.

Suddenly Rogue springs forth and clasps him by his shoulders, while he does the same, pretty much from reflex. They lock up for a moment until she steps forward and adjusts her position, catching him in a headlock quickly.

John tries to power out and reverse it, but Rogue keeps one step ahead of him and blocks, then grips tighter. With a snarl and grimace, he plants his feet on the mat and grabs her around her waist, then lifts her up in the air and over his head, holding her there for a moment and then dropping down on his back. She gets dumped on her back as well, though the force of falling from that height knocks the air out of her.

They roll on the mat for a bit, scrambling and clawing at each other as they attempt to get some sort of hold or pin on the other. Finally Rogue gets John in a sloppy pin and gets up to a two count, then has it reversed on her and winds up on the bottom as he tries to pin her.

Rogue breaks the hold and reaches up with a leg, planting it on his chest and pushing off. He fights her at first but can't hold off forever, eventually giving up and drawing back... but not before John grabs Rogue's leg and falls back, wrapping his legs around it and applying an ankle lock. She starts squirming and sits up, reaching for him and her leg.

Rogue slapped at John's hands futilely, then reaches over with her other leg and begins to kick at his hands repeatedly. With a final, pained grunt he lets go and rolls off to the side, leaving Rogue to hold her poor ankle.

John got up and turned back to see her trying to get up, but having trouble getting her foot to support her weight. He almost smiles and goes over to her to finish the job, but ends up being grabbed and rolled over on his back, back under Rogue again as she tries another pin attempt.

They roll back and forth for a while until he gets a hold on her and locks on tightly, his fists wrapped around her waist. He stands up with her, holding her from the front, and then powers her into the air and starts to lift her over his head to power slam her, but only gets her up to his chest level before his arms give out on him. Her whole body weight comes down on his chest and shoulders as she rolls over onto him, and both of them collapse on the mat.

After taking a few deep breaths, they both get to their feet. Rogue then charges at John, ducking at the last moment. He reaches for her but ends up grasping nothing, and then feels himself being lifted in the air as she places her shoulder into his gut and grabs him around his waist.

John just holds on while Rogue powers him up onto her shoulders and arms, groaning, then twists to her side once she's gotten him up as high as she can and slams him down on the mat. He lands flat on his back, and hard.

Rogue scrambles over on top of John quickly and pins his shoulders, watching his blank gaze and fighting his feeble attempts to power out of the pin, Rogue hooked her feet under John's so she could hold them down by the ankles and counted to three.

Rogue gazed into John's eyes, a look of triumph was on her face. She gave him a kiss on his nose. She continued to smile at him.

"I win," she whispered, leaning into John's ear and placing her lips up against it.

Feeling thoroughly defeated John replied,

"You win." His breathing slowly returned to normal.

In a gesture of good sportsmanship, Rogue rolled over on her back. John followed, lying on top of her. He grabbed both her hands and pulled them slightly over her head. Rogue became nervous, suspicious of John's motives.

"Couldn't I enjoy just one little victory?" She asked.

John looked down at her and let out a chuckle, "Yeah, just this one." He smiled then gently lowered his mouth to her lips.

Rogue reached up, putting her hand on the back of his head, deepening the kiss.

A gruff voice interrupted, "What the hell are you guys doing?"

John and Rogue both looked up at the same time, the same deer-in-headlights surprised expression on their faces. They saw Logan looking over them, arms crossed and frowning fiercely. All the other students had stopped and were watching them too.

"Get off the hell of her! This isn't sex-ed class!"


	16. Part of the Team

XXXXXX

The next day, Rogue woke up beside John. The two had spent the night together and had fallen asleep in the same bed.

John rolled over and saw that Rogue was awake.

"Hey," Rogue greeted.

John flashed his heart-tripping smile. "Hey, been up long?"

"No, not long," Rogue said.

His smile widened.

"Ready to get up?"

Rogue fell to back onto the pillow and sighed. "No, I think I will lie here a little longer."

A flash of disappointment flew across John's face, but he tried to not let her see it. He turned, raised up, and dropped his feet to the floor in a single movement. For a few seconds he sat there on the edge of the bed, seemingly wanting to say something, but he could not or would not let himself do it.

Almost with a pounce he was up and walking toward the shower. Rogue watched him with a faint sense of amusement. The poor man would never know what hit him. Seconds later John was in the shower, and Rogue now alone, had the opportunity to plan her attack.

She gathered up all the pillows in a pile in the middle of the bed and waited for him to come out of the shower. Rogue heard him finishing in the shower and the water going from a trickling sound to a steady drip. She waited patiently with her arms behind her back.

John stepped into the room and was drying his hair when he saw Rogue sitting there on the bed still and quiet. He immediately said, "I like that position. It is making your breasts show through the fabric of the night gown, very delectable."

Rogue felt the blush as she brought her arms from behind her back and smoothed the gown a bit. John sauntered over to the bed and plopped down.

Rogue smiled at him and figured it was then to chose to attack. She snaked her right arm behind her back. When it came back around, Rogue had a huge pillow in her hand. Her first shot hit John on the side.

John knew it was coming. In fact, he had been waiting for it for the whole cruise, so he knew exactly what he was going to do. He faked a pained expression and grabbed his arm, taking Rogue completely off guard. Rogue was already bringing the pillow back from the attack when she saw his pained expression, and the way he grabbed his arm convinced her that she had physically hurt him.

Rogue's face showed the concern she felt, and one hand came to her mouth in a reflexive move. She was stunned by what her eyes beheld. He was in pain. Rogue was across the space between them in less time than it took to draw a breath.

"John!" Rogue yelled and reached with one hand to touch his arm. "Are you okay? I'm…"

She never got to finish the sentence because John grabbed her arm and, with seemingly no effort whatsoever, practically picked her up, stood on the bed and lifted her up until she was literally pinned to the ceiling.

Rogue finally understood and burst into laughter, John had faked her out and now had her in his grasp.

John held Rogue there to the ceiling and said, "Kiss me, and I will let you down."

Rogue pretended indignation and said, "What? Kiss you because you cheated? No way!" She laughed again, letting him know he had not yet won this game.

He frowned up at her. "Kiss me, or I am going to tickle you till you wet your panties!"

She tried to not look worried, but definitely knew what was next. "Nope!"

John turned Rogue around, and, as he started to lower her then said, "Then I shall have to take what I want." Then, as he lowered her, he gently kissed Rogue's stomach through the flimsy material of the gown.

Rogue felt the warmth spread from that kiss through my whole body. "There, isn't that better than fighting?" He asked with a look so mischievous she knew he was not done.

Then in a comical, slow-motion, body slam, John gently tossed Rogue on the bed. Even so he held onto her ankle so she could not get away from him. Rogue put up a struggle, twisting and turning, trying to get her foot free and reach one of the pillows she thought were so carefully placed, sadly now out of reach.

John smiled a rueful smile and, with the ankle he held, began tickling Rogue's foot. At the same time saying, "Okay, you had your chance."

"Nooo, stop," she begged even before he got started.

"Did you stop the other day? I don't think so?" He responded as he continued tickling her foot.

After a minute he stopped and pulled her towards him, stopping as Rogue's gown slid up, exposing her stomach and panties.

Rogue smiled, "Um, I hope you like what you see? Don't you think this is a bit mmm, compromising?"

John frowned momentarily, then began running one finger over her stomach, watching the flesh and muscles react to his touch. She was squirming again, trying to get away. John stopped playing with her stomach and started working his way up the ribs tickling her. Rogue stopped struggling momentarily as he bent over and kissed her.

"That's better." Rogue said.

"So, you like that, huh? There's more if you want it." John had a very wicked look on his face.

Then the torture continued. As he began tickling under Rogue's arms before going back to her ribs, her laughter was growing harder. Now, being that he was sitting on her, Rogue had no hope of getting to a pillow or of getting away. She gave up and let the laughter and giggles take over, unable to control them at all.

John seemed to be enjoying himself immensely as he then targeted the backs of her knees before running his fingers up and down her feet again.

After a minute John stopped and began to plant kisses on her legs and trailed them up to her midsection. A shiver went down his spine when he heard Rogue softly moan. He then kissed along her waistline and trailed more up to her chest.

Once he reached her neck, John began kissing the right side of Rogue's neck before pressing his lips on hers.

"Is this what you want?" He asked quietly.

"Yes." Rogue smiled.

He smiled back as he ran his hands up her sides before getting off her.

"I'm hungry now."

"Race you!" Rogue shouted and dodged for the door. She gave him a pinch as she raced for the door. He didn't waste any time catching up.

However before they could get down the stairs, they were met by Bobby, Kitty, and Peter telling them that the professor wanted to see them all in his office right away.

They walked to his office, John and Bobby playfully pushing each other along the way as Bobby teased John about loosing to a girl the other day.

"Hey, how about you spar with her today?" John suggested.

"No thanks." Bobby laughed. "She was trained by Logan."

Finally they arrived at the professor's office and opened the door, surprised to see Logan, Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler standing with Xavier.

"Good morning," Xavier greeted the group.

"Hello professor," Bobby said.

"What's this all about?" John asked.

Xavier looked up at Logan and smiled.

"Well, I guess I should get right to the point."

Xavier took a deep breath and began.

"I've been observing you all in your training, and I can honestly say that I've never seen such fast improvement like I've seen with you five.

"You all have mastered your powers, using them effectively and responsibly. I've seen you all display strength, courage, bravery, and the willingness to protect and help each other…in more ways than one," Xavier said as he made eye contact with Rogue and Bobby.

"I think Logan has done a terrific job in teaching you, but now I don't think there is anymore he can do to get you all ready for what you might face in the real world. If you will, open the closet on the left there," Xavier said.

Rogue walked over and opened the closet, and hanging inside was five brand new leather uniforms. They all went over and took them

Peter's had a silver X across the chest of his, the arms of the uniform were gone, so he could show off his muscles.

Bobby and Rogue's uniform were jet black with white piping, Kitty had pink piping on hers and John had red. They looked up and smiled at each other, then looked back at Xavier.

"From this day forward, you are all X-Men."

The End.


End file.
